WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Houston Astros optioned right-hander Miguel Ullola and left-hander Colton Gordon to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, manager Joe Espada announced, trimming the club’s pitching group in major league camp.
Both pitchers appeared in Wednesday’s Grapefruit League game against the Baltimore Orioles before receiving the news Thursday morning.
Ullola, 23, was added to Houston’s 40-man roster this offseason and has shown flashes of the electric stuff that made him an intriguing prospect, though command remains the primary area of development. In 5⅓ innings this spring, he has walked six hitters and struck out four.
Espada said he saw encouraging signs in Ullola’s aggressiveness during Wednesday’s outing against Baltimore and emphasized that the assignment should be viewed as part of his continued development.
“I don’t want him to go down thinking his last outing was not good enough,” Espada said. “We want him to throw strikes, especially when he’s ahead in the count. We want him to challenge hitters with his fastball and show more confidence that he can get major league hitters out.”
Gordon, a rookie left-hander who logged 86 major league innings last season with a 5.34 ERA, has been more effective this spring, allowing just one run across 5⅓ innings. But Houston’s crowded rotation picture left limited space for him to remain in camp.
“He’s pitched well enough to continue to stay here,” Espada said. “But right now, where we’re at and the guys we have, we think it’s best for us to send him back down to Triple-A, continue to build him up, and be an option for us during the season.”
Both pitchers are expected to open the 2026 season with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.